title: Direct observation of rare-earth ions in α-sialon:Ce phosphors.
abstract: Doping structures of Ce(3+) into the refractory α-sialon crystal lattice have been examined via an atom-resolved Cs-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope. The location and coordination of the rare-earth ions are well-defined through direct observation in conjunction with structural modeling and image simulation. The stability and solubility of Ce(3+) ions could be remarkably enhanced via congregation into the planar defects formed by a 1/3 (210)-type lattice displacement along with an inversion operation. The formation of cylindrical chambers near the defects is believed to provide effective structural relaxation upon doping of large rare-earth ions into the interstices in their neighborhoods. The as-revealed structural information could be useful for understanding the luminescence properties of the promising rare-earth doped sialon materials.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructures, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Shanghai, China. ffxu@mail.sic.ac.cn
authors.forename: Fangfang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Erwan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sourty
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Xinliang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Mou
authors.forename: Linlin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D002563:Cerium / Q000737:chemistry*; D007477:Ions / Q000737:chemistry; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010316:Particle Size; D017655:Silicon Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D007477:Ions; D017655:Silicon Compounds; D002563:Cerium